FRY MARCH 2022

FRY MARCH 2022

FRY MAGAZINE MARCH 2022 ISSUE FRY AWARDS RESULTS ON PAGE 11

GVF southern fried strips A4-Feb 2020-paths.indd 1

26/02/2020 16:03

MARCH 2022 CONTENTS

our fry award winners announced There’s no escaping what’s going on in the world right now with the conflict in Ukraine and its devastating impact on its people. We truly hope it is resolved very soon. While nothing we face compares to this, the industry is undergoing its toughest time so far, so we’re delighted to be able to spread some good news with the announcement of our 50 Best Fish & Chip Takeaways and 10 Best Fish & Chip Restaurants Awards. This year, I imagine winning means that little bit more because it reflects the hard work and determination that operators and their staff have put in to ensure it’s business as usual. So congratulations to all our winners and we hope the coverage benefits the industry as a whole by reminding the public that fish and chips still represents a high quality and fantastic value for money meal.

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NEWS

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FRY AWARDS

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what’s new

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Fry Magazine Limited 196 Pettswood Road, Orpington, Kent BR5 1LG

PUBLISHER: Reece Head T: 07917 821 015 E: [email protected] EDITOR: Helen Edmonds T: 07515 691090 E: [email protected]

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ranges

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big interview

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FISH FRYING & FAST FOOD SHOW 20

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shop focus

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UNSUNG HERO 39 SPOTLIGHT

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Fry Magazine Ltd does not assume and hereby disclaims any liability to any person for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions in the materials contained herein, regardless of whether such error results from negligence, accident or any other cause whatsoever.

30 MINUTES WITH

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RISING STARS 33

EXPERT EYE 35

insurance 47

Editor’s article 48

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INDUSTRY NEWS 03.22 UK ISSUES SANCTIONS AGAINST RUSSIAN WHITE FISH

FISH & CHIP SHOPS TRIAL JUST EAT’S “WASTE LESS” CHIP PORTION Two fish and chip shops in Scotland are among a number of Just Eat partners trialing a smaller chip portion after research revealed the popular side is the most wasted takeaway food. Customers ordering from Hook & Catch in Bearsden and Livingston, and Andy’s Golden Fry in Johnstone, Dumbarton and Paisley, are able to choose between the shops’ standard sizes and a 30% smaller ‘waste less’ portion to help reduce food waste. It follows a study by Just Eat and environmental charity Hubbub entitled The Food Waste Race in which 72% of participants said they had leftover chips after finishing their takeaway meals. In addition, over half (53%) of participants said that they had leftovers from their takeaways due to portion sizes being too big. Andrew Spiers, owner of Andy’s Golden Fry, has always had two sizes of chips on his menu - regular at £2.20 and large at £3.20 - but is trialing the smaller ‘waste less’ portion costing £1.50 for six weeks. Andy comments: “It’s about two-thirds the size of our regular chips. There are a lot of customers, especially the elderly, who don’t like to waste food, so this will be perfect for them.” In a bid to help reduce food waste further, Just Eat is helping restaurants to easily display portion sizes and calories on its menus, in line with the menu calorie labeling regulations coming into force in England in April. While this will only be obligatory for larger restaurants under the rules, Just Eat will actively encourage restaurants of all sizes to add this information to their menus and support them to offer the right portion sizes. It also plans to support customers to store and safely reuse their leftovers by providing them with information and inspiration on the Just Eat app and website. Robin Clark, senior director of global partnerships, sponsorships and sustainability at Just Eat Takeaway. com, said: “Food waste is one of the greatest issues of our generation. Roughly a third of all food we produce in the world is wasted, which has a huge environmental and economic impact. If food wastage were a country, it would be the third largest emitter of greenhouse gasses in the world. With 60,000 restaurants on the Just Eat platform in the UK, we know that we have a role to play to help reduce food waste.” Research from Just Eat and the Sustainable Restaurant Association in 2019, found that £1.8bn worth of takeaway food is thrown away every year in the UK alone. Of that, £376m worth of food waste occurs in takeaway outlets.

The UK government has announced a 35 percentage point import tariff hike, over and above current rates, on Russian white fish as it ramps up its economic sanctions against Russia. White fish is one of hundreds of products hit with the new import tariffs, which also includes beverages, spirits and vinegar (this includes vodka), cereals, glass, paper and paperboard. The government has also announced a ban on exports to Russia of high-end luxury goods, such as vehicles, fashion and works of art. The newmeasures are designed to inflict maximum damage on the Russian economy while minimising the impact on UK businesses. Chancellor of the exchequer Rishi Sunak said: “Our new tariffs will further isolate the Russian economy from global trade, ensuring it does not benefit from the rules-based international system it does not respect. “These tariffs build on the UK’s existing work to starve Russia’s access to international finance, sanction Putin’s cronies and exert maximum economic pressure on his regime.” The measures will add to an already volatile situation around cod and haddock supplies and prices as it is estimated that between 40 and 60% of white fish comes from Russian sources. FISH AND CHIPS HAS BEEN NAMED ALONGSIDE ROAST DINNERS AND DAVID ATTENBOROUGH IN A LIST BY SANTANDER UK OF THE TOP THINGS TO COME OUT OF THE UK

PIZZERIA BOSS BANNED AFTER UNEXPLAINED BOUNCE BACK LOAN

The boss of a Glasgow pizzeria has been banned for eight years after failing to maintain proper books and records and for being unable to explain what a £50,000 bounce back loan was used for. Ilir Bajrami opened Kleida Pizzeria in April 2014, however, the company could not pay a substantial tax bill and in July 2020 entered voluntary liquidation, triggering an investigation by the Insolvency Service. Investigators uncovered that Ilir failed to co-operate with the liquidators and failed to provide company accounting records, despite numerous requests. Due to a lack of records, no-one could determine the real reason for nearly £650,000 worth of income into Kleida Pizzeria’s accounts or what the company spent more than £736,000 on. Further enquiries uncovered that the pizzeria also received a £50,000 bounce back loan in May 2020 to help the business during the pandemic. But only seven days later, Ilir transferred £90,000 to an unknown account, which included the £50,000 loan. The eight-year disqualification means Ilir is prevented both from directly, or indirectly, becoming involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company, without the permission of the court. Robert Clarke, chief investigator for the Insolvency Service, said: ”The inability to account for the company’s income and expenditure is made all the more serious by the fact that £50,000 of that income relates to government funds to support businesses during the pandemic, which have now disappeared. “lir Bajrami has paid the price for his failure to account for that money, and has been removed from the corporate arena by the courts for a substantial amount of time.”

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BLEND 30 Batter Mix

To celebrate 30 years of trading we have produced this special batter mix Blend 30. We have been passionate about making batter mix for over 50 years and in this Blend 30 we have used all of our expertise and skill to produce a product that is the best of the best. This celebration blend is the ultimate product for crispness, increased holding time and quality.

We hope you love it as much as we do. Leonard & Sylvia Middleton

• A unique blend of flours • Fries extra crispy with a light golden colour • Designed to sit longer in the holding cabinet • Ideal for take-away, restaurant and delivery

@MiddletonFrying

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INDUSTRY NEWS 03.22

HANBURY’S CLOSES RESTAURANT AS CLICK & COLLECT AND DELIVERY GROW Hanbury’s Fish and Chips in Babbacombe, Devon, has permanently closed its restaurant to focus on its growing click and collect and delivery business launched during lockdown. The 50-seater restaurant reopened in December 2021 after an 18-month closure due to Covid, however trade was slow to come back and with Omicron halving its turnover, owner David Hanbury has called time on the restaurant he has run for 40 years. David comments: “The restaurant is hard going these days. People have changed their attitudes to eating out, they don’t want to go out as much, they want to sit at home and have their food delivered. “You’ve got to go with what the flow is.” The closure means the team can concentrate on the click and collect and delivery service, which can do around 65-70 orders on Friday and Saturday nights in the winter and even more in the summer, making up for some of the lost turnover from the restaurant. The biggest growth is in the delivery side of the business with Hanbury’s operating its own click and delivery service via four Toyota Aygos that transport food in heated bags. Food is charged at a 10% premium on Hanbury’s takeaway prices and orders incur a delivery fee of between £3 and £5. David adds: “We’ve found that with the restaurant, although you get a better margin, we needed a lot more people to staff it. With click and collect and delivery we can have less than half the people working it and even though the margin is smaller, we still do okay. “So we’re doing the most sensible thing for our business and our team and I think even if we are smaller, our future will be bright.” Hanbury’s will also remain open for walk-ins, operating six days a week, Monday to Saturday. David plans to utilise the restaurant for click and collect and delivery until the end of this summer when work will begin to convert the space into two holiday cottages, providing an additional revenue stream. At the same time, changes will be made to the existing takeaway so that in 2023 it will be able to cope with more capacity. David adds: “I’ve really enjoyed meeting people in the restaurant and having sit-downs with personal friends, so I will miss it a lot. And it’s a great building, it has a fantastic kitchen that is fully air-conditioned, although I’m not envying emptying it out and trying to sell all the equipment!”

IKEA OPENS FIRST HIGH STREET STORE WITH A FOOD-TO-GO OFFERING Swedish furniture retailer Ikea has opened its first high street store in the UK, complete with a takeaway counter offering a range of hot dogs and wraps, hot and cold drinks as well as pastries. The West London store inside Hammersmith’s Kings Shopping Mall is a quarter of the size of its traditional stores and has around 1,800 products available and 4,000 on display to order. As well as its Swedish Deli, which will be open early for grab and go breakfasts, the store also houses a cafe selling the brand’s famous meat balls as well as other hot meals to eat in. The opening is Ikea’s first cashless store with self- service checkouts on the main floors and the cafe, but a staffed till in the deli. If successful, Ikea could roll out the concept to more UK high streets. Country retail manager and chief sustainability officer, Peter Jelkeby said: “Everything we do starts with our customers. Over the next three years, we will continue to transform as we respond to their needs and dreams, today and tomorrow.”

JJ OFFERS MID-WEEK DISCOUNT WITH SAVE BIG WEDNESDAYS JJ Foodservice is introducing Save Big Wednesdays to help its customers make savings at a crucial time. The mid-week deal offers up to 20% off popular products when orders are placed online for collection. Chief product officer Sezer Ozkul, said: “The cost of living is the highest it’s been in 30 years so we are looking at ways we can help our customers to make even better savings.” Discounts are valid for one day only between 6am to 6pm across all branches.

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CHIPS MADE SIMPLE

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INDUSTRY NEWS 03.22 VEGAN NO “FLEETING FOOD TREND”, SAYS JUST EAT AS ORDERS SOAR

BOOGIE ON DOWNWITH KFE AT ITS ANNUAL BALL ON SUNDAY 15TH MAY KFE will be hosting its Annual Ball on Sunday 15th May at The Belfry Resort & Spa in Sutton Coldfield. The theme this year is Motown with guests enjoying a sit-down meal with music and entertainment including special guest Roy G Hemmings, formerly of the original Drifters. During the day, KFE’s Annual Golf Tournament will tee off with the addition this year that it will also be a qualifier for The Duke of Edinburgh Cup World Finals to be held in Windsor later in the year. The Duke of Edinburgh Cup is a five day event in September competed for over two top courses followed by a round on The Royal Household Course at Windsor Castle. The event culminates in an award ceremony at Windsor Castle in the presence of a senior member of the Royal Family. Those less competitive guests can take part in the Ryder Legends Mini Golf course, 12 miniature versions of some of the most iconic holes in Ryder Cup history. Tickets to the KFE Annual Ball are £75 per person. Entry fee for the Duke of Edinburgh Cup (including the KFE competition) is £210, or £100 just to play in the KFE Competition. To book or for further information, e-mail [email protected] or call 01778 380448. ARSENAL GOALKEEPER STARS IN ADVERT FOR LOCAL CHIP SHOP Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale has appeared in a social media advert for a local fish and chip shop close to the club’s north London ground. Ramsdale orders a portion of chips from Chip Inn Fish Bar and the customers get ready to shout “your chips ahhhh” delivered like the old terrace chant. The ad is part of a campaign to raise awareness of businesses in the local area and drive footfall on match days.

Just Eat reported a 75% increase in demand for vegan food this January compared to January 2021 and a 1,000% increase compared to the same time period three years ago. The figures came as thousands of consumers tried Veganuary during the first month of the year, choosing to try out vegan options and meat alternatives. The top five UK areas seeing the most vegan orders in January 2022 were London, Glasgow, Manchester, Edinburgh and Liverpool. Just Eat published its responsible business plan last year in which it committed to respond to changing diets and preferences by offering “the broadest possible choice” and providing “clear and transparent information for consumers on more sustainable food options”. Andrew Kenny, managing director for Just Eat UK, said: “There’s always a big buzz around Veganuary, and these figures show that going vegan isn’t just another fleeting food trend. With consumers becoming more aware of health and the climate crisis over the last few years, choosing healthier and more sustainable food is now a booming part of what people are ordering.” Veganuary hit a new landmark with more than 600,000 people officially taking part in 2022.

JUST EAT ADDS ORDER WITH GOOGLE FUNCTION

Just Eat has collaborated with Google so that customers can now order their favourite takeaways without visiting its app or website. Instead, whenever consumers search for a particular restaurant in Google Search or Maps, if it is a Just Eat partner they will see an “Order Online” button giving the option to order food directly through Order with Google. Just Eat will fulfill the orders that customers place based on the restaurants and menu >Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52

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